I'll usually tip a couple bucks for Pizza delivery, maybe 10% or so of the bill, rounded up to the nearest dollar. Funny story though, I once got into an altercation over this, some guy from Dominos was delivering a pizza and it was 30 minutes late or so, and was taking exception to not receiving a tip...he quickly learned this wasn't the best idea when delivering to an apartment full of drunk and hungry people though...

I use a formula to calculate tips at US restaurants that are nicer than quick casual. I start with 15% and add or subtract based on certain events and guidelines. Generally if I ask for something, and it isn't done promptly, I will subtract 2-5% from the tip. Â If they attempt to remove plates w/o being asked or it being obvious that I want them removed (I will generally place them outside my eating area) then I will subtract 2-3%, I may also subtract 1-2% if my water (or wine) isn't refilled when it's obvious it needs to be. Â I always subtract 5% if I am brought my check before I ask for it, that is one of my biggest pet peeves. I will add 2-5% for good service and 5-10% for exceptional service.

Jerry Seinfeld once said (and I'm roughly paraphrasing here) that tipping has gone from rewarding good service to rewarding "the absence of hostility." Â I applaud your willingness to deviate from the social norm that demands a 15% tip regardless of the level of service. Â Have you ever given a zero tip (which is theoretically possible under your guidelines) for bad service that met each one of your pet peeves?

I can't believe I let this thread slip past me. Â I've been a server and bartender at chain restaurants for five years now, and getting back to the original topic, these servers have every right to vent. Â I urge more of you to actually pay attention to what they say instead of turning away with your noses held aloft. Â As for fine dining, those establishments operate on an entirely different paradigm than your local casual place. Â Since I'm jumping on this thread so late, I'll address only a few of the points made thus far: 1. Â Take out orders - we do not simply hand you a bag. Â Often we will finish the food, ensure that it is complete and to your specification, and keep it presentable for when you arrive to get it. Â Since we're not actually waiting on you, we don't expect a full tip, but a dollar or two is appreciated, especially if there are substitutions or a complicated order. 2. Â Tip - 15% is the starting point. Â Deduct as you feel appropriate, but you should add with the same enthusiasm as you subtract. Â We'll do whatever is takes to make you happy. Â Don't reward us by leaving the standard. 3. Â "Camping Out" - Take your time, eat at your own pace, and enjoy yourself. Â We want you to have a good time. Â But you've come to eat, not to lounge. Â If you want to continue your conversation, go to the bar area and grab a table there. Â We appreciate your tip, but you are costing us money by sitting at our tables for excessive periods. 4. Â Wages - yes, we are paid, but this pay is always minimum wage, though the rate varies by state. Â In NYS, we make $3.85 per hour. Â Deduct taxes, and we basically subsist on tips alone. These are not mandates, but only my opinions as an insider. Â And, yes, coincidentally, there are professional servers. Kevin

1. Take out orders - we do not simply hand you a bag. Often we will finish the food, ensure that it is complete and to your specification, and keep it presentable for when you arrive to get it. Since we're not actually waiting on you, we don't expect a full tip, but a dollar or two is appreciated, especially if there are substitutions or a complicated order.

Umm, shouldn't we expect the food is complete, presentable, and to our specification because we paid for it? Carryout is analogous to going to a gas station and asking for a pack of cigarettes, should the cashier be tipped in that case?

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2. Tip - 15% is the starting point. Deduct as you feel appropriate, but you should add with the same enthusiasm as you subtract. We'll do whatever is takes to make you happy. Don't reward us by leaving the standard.

IMO if the server gives good service, they will receive a 15% tip. A tip is a gratuity, meaning it's given according by my choice, as a reward for good service. It's not mandatory.

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3. "Camping Out" - Take your time, eat at your own pace, and enjoy yourself. We want you to have a good time. But you've come to eat, not to lounge. If you want to continue your conversation, go to the bar area and grab a table there. We appreciate your tip, but you are costing us money by sitting at our tables for excessive periods.

I agree with this to a some extent. I think helping your children with their math shouldn't be a use of a restaurant. However, going there, having a conversation, and having a good time, is the purpose of a restaurant, and given those parameters, patrons should be able to stay as long as they like. Most likely (but not always) people will order coffee, drinks, etc... during this time anyways.

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4. Wages - yes, we are paid, but this pay is always minimum wage, though the rate varies by state. In NYS, we make $3.85 per hour. Deduct taxes, and we basically subsist on tips alone.

Noone forced you (or anyone else) to be a server. Some people may tip less than 15% or (in rare cases) not at all, but that just comes with the territory.

I get a little tired of hearing people bitch about children at restaurants. I understand they can cause a disturbance, but I'm sure we all, at some point, disturbed others as well.

Not me. I wouldn't have dared to misbehave in a restaurant when I was small. Parents should just remove their children when they misbehave rather than continuing to inflict them on others. Presumably they chose to breed, so should take the responsibility that comes with children. It's the way that parents either find the toe-curling antics of their spawn amusing (and think we all should), or just ignore them that grips me.

I can't believe I let this thread slip past me. Â I've been a server and bartender at chain restaurants for five years now, and getting back to the original topic, these servers have every right to vent. Â I urge more of you to actually pay attention to what they say instead of turning away with your noses held aloft. Â As for fine dining, those establishments operate on an entirely different paradigm than your local casual place. Â Since I'm jumping on this thread so late, I'll address only a few of the points made thus far: 1. Â Take out orders - we do not simply hand you a bag. Â Often we will finish the food, ensure that it is complete and to your specification, and keep it presentable for when you arrive to get it. Â Since we're not actually waiting on you, we don't expect a full tip, but a dollar or two is appreciated, especially if there are substitutions or a complicated order. 2. Â Tip - 15% is the starting point. Â Deduct as you feel appropriate, but you should add with the same enthusiasm as you subtract. Â We'll do whatever is takes to make you happy. Â Don't reward us by leaving the standard. 3. Â "Camping Out" - Take your time, eat at your own pace, and enjoy yourself. Â We want you to have a good time. Â But you've come to eat, not to lounge. Â If you want to continue your conversation, go to the bar area and grab a table there. Â We appreciate your tip, but you are costing us money by sitting at our tables for excessive periods. 4. Â Wages - yes, we are paid, but this pay is always minimum wage, though the rate varies by state. Â In NYS, we make $3.85 per hour. Â Deduct taxes, and we basically subsist on tips alone. These are not mandates, but only my opinions as an insider. Â And, yes, coincidentally, there are professional servers. Kevin

"I'm very sorry the government taxes their tips, that's fucked up. That ain't my fault. It would seem to me that waitresses are one of the many groups the government fucks in the ass on a regular basis. Look, if you ask me to sign something that says the government shouldn't do that, I'll sign it, put it to a vote, I'll vote for it, but what I won't do is play ball. And as for this non-college bullshit I got two words for that: learn to fuckin' type, 'cause if you're expecting me to help out with the rent you're in for a big fuckin' surprise." - Mr. Pink, Reservoir Dogs Just a little humor, folks. Its a little harsh, but I think its funny. I work in the cafeteria two days a week serving lunch. We serve, on average, between 400 and 600 people a day in there. I don't get tipped, and I do a helluva lot more than someone just "finishing off" the plate, and after the meal is over I have to clean up the serving area, with others, and clean the tables in the dining area. Apparently, because I don't walk the plate out to the table and hand it to them at the line, I'm not entitled to that little extra something. I'm not angry that I don't get tipped, as I'm sure people at Burger King aren't either. I can't see people who do get tipped to get angry because the amount of it doesn't meet their high standards. As I said in a previous post, I tip well when the service is well and I tip ok if the service is just ok.

Umm, shouldn't we expect the food is complete, presentable, and to our specification because we paid for it? Â Carryout is analogous to going to a gas station and asking for a pack of cigarettes, should the cashier be tipped in that case?

No, that instance is in retail and is not analogous. Â In the service industry, tipping is a way of saying that your services are appreciated. Â In this case, the service was minimal, hence the minimal tip. Â This is the same reason you tip the paperboy - you expect the newspaper will be in your box, complete, but you still tip anyway. Â You tip a shoeshine because he shined your shoes. Â

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A tip is a gratuity, meaning it's given according by my choice, as a reward for good service. Â It's not mandatory.

You are absolutely correct. Â If the service was abysmal, I wouldn't leave a tip either.

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Â Noone forced you (or anyone else) to be a server. Â Some people may tip less than 15% or (in rare cases) not at all, but that just comes with the territory.

I'm not fishing for sympathy here. Â Many servers do quite well for themselves, even on substandard tips. Â My point here is that though wage laws vary between states, the service minimum wage is not the same is it is in other areas (NYS regular minimum is now $6.00, I believe). Â Most people do not know this. Â If they did, they may feel encouraged to add an extra percent here or there. I will now duck and cover in my trench until the barrage is over. K

I get a little tired of hearing people bitch about children at restaurants. I understand they can cause a disturbance, but I'm sure we all, at some point, disturbed others as well.

I cannot recall even being taken to a restaurant before the age of about 9 or 10, and on the very, very rare occasions I was taken after that age I can assure the forum I behaved myself, and sat in one place, quietly, and ate my food, not played with it, threw it, screamed, ran around, visited other tables, tried theirs, tripped people up etc, which I find common behaviour now. My father was most clear about what was expected and used old fashioned methods to ensure that I complied with his wishes on the subject. I cannot even understand why people take young children at all, never mind try to comprehend their lack of parental guidance when they are there. What does a 4 or 5 year old actually get out of visiting a restaurant? Ban them until they are of a reasonable age, and get them out of the pubs too, children's certificate indeed, Pagh.

I don't tip any one except valets, sometimes taxi drivers (if they get there on time) and waiters (and sometimes sommeliers), I think the trend of random service employees jockeying for tips is ridiculous.

I cannot even understand why people take young children at all, never mind try to comprehend their lack of parental guidance when they are there.

Perhaps because they love their children and want to spend time with them? Maybe they've been working all day and haven't had a chance to spend time with their children, and when they get home they don't necessarily want to cook? The people that I know that complain the most about children in restaurants are people that were raised by nannies or other paid assistants while their parents were out partying. On a side note, these are also usually not the most well adjusted individuals.

Although I waited tables and bartended when I was in college and therefore have many opinions on how to tip, non-tippers, service etc... I am going to refrain from going into too lengthy of a spiel about the matter (maybe just medium lengthy). In America tipping is here and it's here to stay. It has ingrained itself into society to the extent that the government has a different minimum wage for tipped employees ($2.13 per hour in ATL when I was working). On top of that, in some places Mr. IRS does not allow the employee to "claim" their tips. Instead, they just tax based upon the servers sales for the month and assume that a minimum level of tipping was there. My point is that yes, tipping and the crap that goes with it can be a pain in the a#s at times. The government should raise the minimum wage and the restaurants should pay a decent wage. The IRS shouldn't tax people on money that they don't make then we won't have this issue. Let's all write to our Reps and tell them all about this.... But in the meantime, what's the benefit in punishing the guy pouring your drink and serving you food for this gross injustice on the part of the government and big business. Throw a couple of extra bucks in the tip... Yes, yes, yes, I know that if they don't want to do the work and don't want to deal with bad tippers, then they don't have to work in the industry, but the same could be said about any job. If you don't like it get out.. But that said, what is really the big deal? It's only a few bucks when we go out to make a crappy tip into a decent tip. How much thought do you put into whether you are going to have that extra beer or drop 7-10 bucks a piece on the after dinner cognacs? (For which by the way the standard markup is about 200-300% in restaurants) Throw a couple of extra bucks in the tip... In a forum named for "Style", lets all remember that style is not just the clothes on your back, but also how we carry ourselves and how we treat others. That includes those who serve us, and maybe how we treat them is a reflection on how much "style" we really have. Respectfully, K (I will now wait for the ensuing crap and picking apart of my post)

Perhaps because they love their children and want to spend time with them? Maybe they've been working all day and haven't had a chance to spend time with their children, and when they get home they don't necessarily want to cook?

If they love their children so much, why do they spend so much time ignoring them when they misbehave? I still fail to see why these inconsiderate idiots should inflict their tiresome broods on me. The point is not that children should not be taken to restaurants, but that if they are, the least parents can do is ensure that they behave appropriately and do not disturb anyone else. I have no objection to quiet, well-mannered children in restaurants.

Although I waited tables and bartended when I was in college and therefore have many opinions on how to tip, non-tippers, service etc... I am going to refrain from going into too lengthy of a spiel about the matter (maybe just medium lengthy). In America tipping is here and it's here to stay. It has ingrained itself into society to the extent that the government has a different minimum wage for tipped employees ($2.13 per hour in ATL when I was working). On top of that, in some places Mr. IRS does not allow the employee to "claim" their tips. Instead, they just tax based upon the servers sales for the month and assume that a minimum level of tipping was there. My point is that yes, tipping and the crap that goes with it can be a pain in the a#s at times. The government should raise the minimum wage and the restaurants should pay a decent wage. The IRS shouldn't tax people on money that they don't make then we won't have this issue. Let's all write to our Reps and tell them all about this.... But in the meantime, what's the benefit in punishing the guy pouring your drink and serving you food for this gross injustice on the part of the government and big business. Throw a couple of extra bucks in the tip... Yes, yes, yes, I know that if they don't want to do the work and don't want to deal with bad tippers, then they don't have to work in the industry, but the same could be said about any job. If you don't like it get out.. But that said, what is really the big deal? It's only a few bucks when we go out to make a crappy tip into a decent tip. How much thought do you put into whether you are going to have that extra beer or drop 7-10 bucks a piece on the after dinner cognacs? (For which by the way the standard markup is about 200-300% in restaurants) Throw a couple of extra bucks in the tip... In a forum named for "Style", lets all remember that style is not just the clothes on your back, but also how we carry ourselves and how we treat others. That includes those who serve us, and maybe how we treat them is a reflection on how much "style" we really have. Respectfully, K (I will now wait for the ensuing crap and picking apart of my post)

After such a heartbreaking saga of how unfortunate food service workers are in the US, I almost want to reread Oliver Twist again... However, since most of the time I am eating out, I'm going to fairly good restaurants, my servers are receiving a minimum of $5-10 per bill unless the service was utterly absymal. At the better establishments, that's more like $10-20 even at a low rate of tiping. Assuming that the server is waiting more than one table, that's a more than reasonable hourly wage IMO. If they do a good job, they will receive a pretty great tip IMO. My uncle worked his way from waiting tables to food and beverage manager of many large high-end hotels including the Ritz Carlton in Palm Desert and the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. He said (in the 1970s) it wasn't unusual for him to take in $100-200 a night in tips, which is in today's values, nearly double that. I think that's a pretty decent living, don't you?